The Nova Short Story Competition is
our annual
competition for budding writers of science fiction and fantasy short
stories.
Usually contested in two categories, General and South African, the
competition is open for entry from April until 30 September annually.
Winning
entries, finalists and seleceted other entries are published in
Probe.

2014 Nova Short Story Competition

Results

Jennie Ridyard for the general section and Arthur Goldstuck for the South African section.

The South
African section of the competition is sponsored and judged by Arthur
Goldstuck of WorldWideWorx

South African Section

Of the five entries in the
SA section, only two made the list of finalists.

South
African Section

Title

Author

1st Prize - R 1,000

Chemical
Creatures

Gary Kuyper

2nd Prize - R 600

What
Shem Remembered

Reen
Collett

General
Section

Title

Author

1st Prize - R750

Foxfather

Maya Pillay

2nd Prize - R500

Electric Sheep

Kerry Anderson

3rd Prize - R250

Short Cuts

Stephen Nel

Special Mention

String Magic

Leon Louw

Jennie's
comments follow below.

Congratulations
to the winners, and may 2015 result in a plethora of entries, rather than a
dearth.

Gavin

Judge's Comments

Talk
about having your prejudices turned on their head! I tend to shy away from
excessive description in fiction, an inclination rather too many of the entries
clearly didn't have, and yet, and yet....

The
winning story, FOXFATHER, surprised me by being filled with description, yet
this is handled so delicately, and is so integral to the prose, that there is
none of the jarring (and yawning!) that excessive adjectives and adverbs can
cause.

FOXFATHER
is wonderful: beautifully written and compelling from beginning to end. I was
intrigued from the very first line, and when it finished I wanted more. It
immediately felt like a winner.

I
wasn't disappointed on re-reading either. FOXFATHER's world-building is
intricate yet feels entirely natural, and the new yet familiar landscape it
creates is rich with detail, taking in superstition, ritual, festivities and
religion in a fearful, old-fashioned place where dual moons are due to eclipse,
"pressed so close together now that they form a misshapen hourglass."

This
sort of thing can so easily be overworked, yet only once did I reach for my red
pen and question a line, and then only because it wasn't quite as smooth as the
others.

The
main character -- a young girl -- is layered and complex, and those she
encounters are delicately painted yet vivid. Creating such vitality and depth
in less than 6000 words is an impressive achievement indeed. I hope this
talented writer never puts their pen down!

Second
place goes to ELECTRIC SHEEP, an entirely different story, being firmly science
fiction, and set in the technical, jargon-rich world of gaming. It's fresh and
smart -- occasionally too smart, for the writer clearly knows their stuff, and
the computing references sometimes went over my head. Also, I'm not entirely
sure the use of lower-case "code" names for the protagonists -- root,
banks, grub -- works, but techies may differ.

However,
into this world are introduced sympathetic characters that are skillfully,
sparsely drawn yet completely real -- game developers with an obsession -- and
there is much delightful wit, clever banter, and an excellent storyline too,
with a sharp twist.

The
writing is great: clean, crisp and clearly the work of someone with real skill.
I liked it one hell of a lot.

Third
place goes to the truest "short story" of all those shortlisted:
SHORT CUTS. It isn't necessarily the best creative writing out of the other
entrants that didn't make it -- occasionally it's dry, and the introduction of
the "sci-fi" elements is at times clumsy and hackneyed -- but it is
consistent, it sticks firmly to its purpose, it doesn't veer off plot, and it
juggles elements of Dystopian versus Utopian realities very deftly. With nods
to current affairs, echoes of classic science fiction, and a very firm salute
to 1984, SHORT CUTS is snappy and smart, and has a twist that made me shout
"hah!"

I'd
also like to make special mention of STRING MAGIC. At just shy of 8000 words,
this read like a sped-up novel that had been crammed into a short story, which
put it out of the running for one of the prizes. There is just too much
happening, too much being skimmed over as if the writer has cut chunks to make
it fit the competition criteria. Basically, it needs a polish.

However,
the more I read the more impressed I was by STRING MAGIC's wit and humour, and
the great dialogue and rounded, flawed, funny characters.
It could well become a fantastical sci-fi novel with a real South African
flavour. I do hope the writer expands it, and makes it into the hectic,
energy-filled ride of a book (or books) that it could be.

And
then there are the others. Generally, the shortlist showed varying degrees of
writing talent, and there were a few near-misses for the top three: some are
beautifully written but lack coherent plot, some start well then go off on
tangents and end up in plotline cul-de-sacs.

Often
I felt there was a great story lying beneath something that needed more work,
and then conversely I'd find a story that was worked to death, and had become
overwrought.

Further
down the list descriptive passages tended to be weighty, adding nothing but
bloat to the stories. Some showcased elegant prose, and I sat to attention, but
then the plot became flaccid, or the characters drifted away and lost me.

Many
entries felt very much like detailed outlines for novels.

Once
or twice I was frustrated by a lack of continuity, while on several occasions I
snarled at characters having "visions of" things, and "seeming
to understand" things, and "somehow knowing" things.

Clichés
crept in, as did sneaky grammar demons, particularly with "is" and
"are". I'd recommend particular vigilance with self-consciously
"great" writing, because sometimes a window merely closes, sometimes
a glass just breaks -- no verbose description is required. Kill those wordy
babies! Stuff them in a computer file along with those tired clichés -- the
piercing eyes, that deafening silence -- and let them be forgotten.